3D Monument Backups Boggle the Mind

Backing up computer files is a longstanding habit of the computer age (though about to be made obsolete on the user level by cloud computing), but new 3D mapping technology allows us to backup culturally and historically important monuments, ancient ruins, or even the castle or church down the street. If this all sounds futuristic, think again. It’s happening now, thanks to a nonprofit organization called CyArk, which has already created digital copies of 100 well-known monuments and has current plans for 400 more.

CyArk co-founder Barbara Kacyra says, “There is never going to be enough time or money to preserve everything. If you can’t physically save something, the next best thing is to digitally preserve it.”

Through a variety of tools like 3D laser scanners, radar, and more, famous edifices like Mt. Rushmore can be scanned down to the smallest detail, storing the length, width, and depth of every nook and cranny into a computer with inhuman precision. No more will such treasures as the Afghan Buddha find themselves in danger of complete extinction as happened when the Taliban pulverized it in 2001. Now, through the miracle of modern technology, it can be recalled and even reconstructed exactly as it was before. (Derek Dowell – VNN)(Image: Flickr | Kurt Magoon)